Paramedics

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PARAMEDICS

Deepa Bharath Newport Beach Paramedic Brian Slater took care of people most of his life. He comforted people, tended to their injuries and a lot of times, saved their lives. But on Aug. 30, Slater's colleagues, some of whom he had mentored, rescued him after he was found floating face down in waist-deep water near the Colton Street beach. Slater was with his family on a day off during the Labor Day weekend. Newport Beach Lifeguards Rob Williams, Alex Scurr and Brian Gray as well as paramedics Ty Lunde and Keith Winokur along with Fire Capt.

NEWPORT COAST ? Lou Basenese turns 57 today, so the gift neighbors gave him on July 6 was a little early. Their gift wasn't wrapped ? it was his life. Basenese and his wife, Laura, were vacationing here from Orlando when Lou suffered a heart attack near their condo. Laura's screams for help led neighbors to call 911 and help her perform CPR until paramedics came. Updated CPR procedures done by the medics and a brand-new machine at Hoag Hospital also allowed Lou Basenese to survive what could have been a fatal attack.

Lolita Harper You can take a man out of a firehouse but you will never take the firehouse out of this man. Brian Slater, a retired Newport Beach paramedic, still jumps to action at the sounds of sirens. In fact, he responded to a medical call Thursday night on his own block. Donna Boston, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department, said the station sent a paramedic unit to the 400 block of Colton Street for emergency medical aid. When the crew arrived on scene, Slater, who lives a few doors down, was there, Boston said.

Deepa Bharath A Fire Department paramedic remained in critical condition Tuesday after he was injured body surfing Saturday afternoon, officials said. Brian Slater, 51, was swimming in the ocean off Colton Street at about 3:15 p.m. while his family was on the beach, said Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer. A few beachgoers alerted a lifeguard in a tower a block away that a man was floating face down in waist-deep water, he said. "Our seasonal lifeguards responded first, but they were soon backed up by one of our patrol vehicles," Bauer said.

Laguna Beach is helping assist in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Firefighter Paramedic Eric Lether, a member of the Orange County Disaster Medical Assistance Team, has been in the New Orleans area since Monday working to set up remote care facilities for victims of Hurricane Katrina, said Chief Mike Macey. The Federal Emergency Management Agency put out a call Thursday to California fire agencies requesting 1,000 teams of two firefighters to assist in disaster response efforts in the area affected by the hurricane.

Costa Mesa City Councilman Eric Bever has appealed the decision to charge residents extra fees for emergency medical services. The City Council decided to start charging residents $275 to $460 on top of normal ambulance costs when the Fire Department’s paramedics respond to a medical emergency and the patient is taken to a hospital. The proposal was one of three suggestions by the Fire Department to earn an estimated $1 million per year to help balance next year’s city budget.

If it had been any other night, he’d probably be dead. If he had decided to join another team, he could be dead. If even one thing had been different about Tuesday, he might not be here for his wife and kids. But like friend Craig Covey said, “The moons, planets and the stars, everything was in alignment.” It’s one of those stories you just can’t make up. Tuesday night, Covey, an Orange County Fire Authority captain, was playing basketball with his team in a recreation league at the West Newport Gym off 15th Street near Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

A Costa Mesa woman was being held on $1 million bail Wednesday after an alleged drunk-driving crash, which one paramedic said was the worst he's ever seen, killed her 6-year-old son. Julie Ann Smith, 46, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving. She was released from the hospital and booked into Orange County Jail on Wednesday, said California Highway Patrol Officer Jennifer Hink. "If you've ever ripped an aluminum can in half…. that's pretty much what the car resembled," said Newport Beach Firefighter Paramedic Jude Olivas, who was among the first rescuers at the crash scene on the Corona del Mar Freeway (73)

The sight and sound could easily make you cringe. A paramedic grabs your leg at the calf, holding up your thin-skinned shin, and pulls out a 15-gauge syringe, the same size as the ones used for IVs. After gently pushing through your skin, the needle bumps into your tibia, the bone, and that’s when he begins to drill. The high-pitched noise might ring in your ear like it does at the dentist , as the needle burrows through your bone. And suddenly, it’s through and into the bone marrow.

A man who was pulled out of the ocean at about 3:40 p.m. Friday near Balboa Pier died after paramedics took him to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach police spokesman Sgt. Bill Hartford said. The man's name was not released Friday, pending notification of family members. Witnesses pulled the victim, who appeared to be in his 50s, out of the water, Lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer said. A lifeguard and an off-duty nurse both treated the man. Three more lifeguards, the lifeguard rescue boat, a fire unit and paramedics arrived to help the man before he was taken to the hospital.